infinitely mine
by praetoring
Summary: "She dreams of what might have been. She dreams she rejected Professor Ozpin's offer, for she was just a girl and could not possibly shoulder such a responsibility. She walks out of his office and returns to her team, her family." Or Pyrrha, the maidens, and the future of her dreams.


song inspiration: berenstein - the band CAMINO

* * *

 _at another place in time_

 _you were infinitely mine_

 _relatively alright_

 _when berenstein was fine_

* * *

He is her one regret, and oh how she misses him. Her thoughts of him race through her head, as she cries out to the void in anguish.

 _'I should have told you sooner. I shouldn't have pushed you away. I wish I had stayed by your side, I would have given you my everything.'_

She wants to run back to his side, to hold him close and cry on his shoulder, and profess her love so loudly surely the whole world would hear. She wants to tell him everything she couldn't convey with that kiss. How the strength of her love bubbles up inside her, and it makes her feel like she will burst. How it consumes her, and burns through her, and leaves her giddy and stupid.

She wants to say, how when she is with him she is no longer Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, but rather just Pyrrha, the stupid teenage girl in love. When she is with him, the world falls away, and all the expectations with it. How she doesn't have to be perfect for him, she just has to be.

She wants all this and more, but there is nothing for her but the emptiness. She is gone, she is nothing. She is neither here nor there, but lost somewhere. Alone. With only her thoughts and tears and memories of a sunshine boy.

Occasionally, older women come to her, hold her, comfort her. They guide her into their embrace, hold her hand as she cries, and smooth her hair whilst whispering soothing words. These previous fall maidens speak of past lives lived, and loves lost. They take on her pain and embrace her, she who is not quite a maiden, yet has touched the power, and lost because of it.

(She notices one day that she never sees a maiden younger than her. Has there ever been a maiden more tragic than she?)

Still she cries in her arms. She cries for the injustice, cries for her friends who she's lost, cries for the boy she loved and lost. She thinks one day she may see him again, hopefully far off in the future, but the maidens tell her it is not so. For she has touched the maiden power, and has been taken into the fold. She has gone where he cannot.

She sobs, for in this state she is infinite and unending. A memory of a would-be maiden, doomed to forever view the world through the eyes of another. A warning to future maidens of the dangers that come with their powers. For although she was an accomplished warrior, she was just a girl, who loves a boy, and was taken far too soon.

A pawn in someone else's game.

And he, for all that he is bright and vivid and ALIVE, he is mortal. Though destiny is not done with him, his time will come, and he will leave her forever, like she has left him.

* * *

She sees him again through THAT woman's eyes. She feels Cinder's sadistic cruelty, and the perverse pleasure she gets from mocking his pain, but all Pyrrha knows is the warmth blooming in her ghostly chest.

 _'Oh Jaune, look at you. I'm so proud of you'_

Happiness radiates through her at the sight of him. Even as he rages in pure anger, and charges at the woman whose eyes she is seeing out of, Pyrrha feels nothing but warmth and love for him. All their training, all their hard work, it all paid off. Look at how he has grown. That thought tinges her smile with sadness.

Time has passed, and change has begun. He's taller now, taller than before. And his shoulders have broadened out. No longer does he look lanky to her, but sturdy now. Solid. He looks stronger now, determined. Jaune looks like the knight she always knew he was in his heart.

He's growing into a fine young man now.

And she remains the same. A girl of seventeen. A girl.

Oh gosh.

"Aha I'm starting to remember you, you're the dense one that can't tell when he's out of his league."

She hears Cinder saying this, as she sees Jaune knocked to the floor. Just as she sees through Cinder's eyes, Cinder peaks through her memories. Half formed images flash through her thoughts: training on the rooftop, the Ursa Major, the food fight with team RWBY, Jaune in a dress at the dance, resting outside the school and his hand on hers, the kiss.

The Kiss.

 _'No! No! Leave him alone! Stay out of my head, stay away from him!'_

It doesn't matter what she thinks, Cinder has him pinned now. "You're just a failure with a death wish."

Pyrrha shakes her head when she hears his response, tears streaming down her face. It's too soon, please no, not yet. Her hand flies to her mouth as she lets out a gasp, begging and pleading to whatever powers there may be out there to let him live.

She can't bear to watch. She flees.

* * *

Sometimes she wanders through the emptiness. This vast nothingness where the souls of the previous fall maidens reside. After all, she was never chosen by design to wield the might. It was offered in a half bid to stop a maniac. She only touched to power, never held it. She has to be able to find a way to leave. To move on. Is that what it is?

She cannot bear the thought of Cinder seeing any more of her memories, but oh how she wants to see Jaune again. To see her team and her friends again. To see her loved ones in time.

Surely she doesn't have to stay here if she is no true maiden. There has to be a way out of this somewhere.

* * *

In the quiet of the void, away from the other maidens, she dreams sometimes. She dreams of what might have been.

She dreams she rejected Professor Ozpin's offer, for she was just a girl and could not possibly shoulder such a responsibility. She walks out of his office and returns to her team, her family.

Perhaps in this dream Cinder and her faction still attach Beacon, but this time she does not follow Professor Ozpin down the elevator, and she does not drag Jaune with her. In this dream, they do not see another girl die for a monsters power, but join up with their team, and together they fight off hordes of grim, working perfectly in tandem as partners do.

She imagines that she still would confess at some point. In the heat of battle, with danger around them. She knows they will survive, but just in case.

She kisses him.

And this time, her fear is unfounded. In her mind, they survive, they fight off the forces. Beacon is a ruin, but this time Cinder is defeated, and they live.

And when there is a find a quiet moment, Pyrrha pulls Jaune away and they kiss again. Not the desperate expression of emotion like the first time, but sweet, tender. The kiss is one uncertainty and excitement. A kiss of hopefully new possibilities for the future. They don't know where life may take them, but they're together now and that's what matters.

Ren and Nora find them later, still wrapped up in one another's arms. Ren with a knowing smirk, Nora with a shit-eating grin. Despite the teasing, Pyrrha knows the duo are happy for them. Besides, it won't be long before the duo get together themselves anyways. She'll get them back then.

Jaune however is a complete mess. His face is flushed, and he's completely flustered, but they hold hands all the way back to the dorm.

From there life goes on. Classes are put on hold as the school is in major disrepair. Students are rotated through various tasks like cleaning away rubble, aiding displaced civilians, helping to repair the school, and patrolling the safe-zone border.

It's menial work but it must be done so Team JNPR, along with RWBY, SSSN, and many others from their year step up to help out. They clean up Beacon, and they live, and they love.

Slowly but surely the school is put back together, and the CCT is functional again. The visiting students all head home, while Beacon Academy attendees call home to worried parents, siblings, relatives. By the time everything is relatively back to normal, spring has come and gone, and it is summer.

Many choose to head home for what little break time remains, but JNPR chooses to stay in Beacon. They all find they don't want to be apart from each other.

Soon second year comes and goes in a blink of an eye. They train and learn as usual, but the battle has already prepped them more than class time ever will.

Excitement that year comes in the form of Nora kissing Ren in the cafeteria in front of the whole school, to the delight of their friends, and the horror of the first years. Yang throws her empty pop can at them, shouting that it's about time, while Nora jeers that JNPR's the team of power couples. Ren merely shakes his head, while Jaune flushes and hides his face. Pyrrha's so happy she feels like flying.

Third year is equally unremarkable. They routinely head out on missions assigned by the school, completing them with ease.

On one such mission Jaune activates his semblance, saving Ren in the process. Pyrrha doesn't think she's ever seen Nora be that quiet or serious for so long, but the sob of relief from her petite teammate makes it worth it. As the couple cling to one another, Pyrrha reaches across to Jaune, taking his hand. His semblance is still activated, helping Ren, and she can feel a pulsing warmth coming from him. It's soothing, healing, and so wholy Jaune that she never wants to let go.

She squeezes his hand. He squeezes back. They're all together, alive, and in love.

By the end of fourth year, they're all deciding where they should go for work. Obviously they will stick together. They're a team, a well oiled machine. Vale seems ideal to be based out of. Ren and Nora will always have a home in one another, no matter the continent or kingdom, but Pyrrha isn't keen on returning to Mistral, to the title of Invincible Girl. Jaune is from Vale, so it is decided they will stay there.

On one of their last nights as students, Pyrrha finds herself up on the roof with Jaune, backs against the wall as they overlook Vale. The spring breeze is warm with the impending summer, but she cuddles up to him all the same. It's surreal to think that three years ago, they had to battle for their lives, and now here they are, on the cusp of becoming fully fledged huntsmen, and she is utterly afraid.

Thinking about the future terrifies her to no end, where they'll end up, what might happen. Just like during the battle, she's afraid she might lose one of them out there. But they're all stronger than they once were.

"Lien for your thoughts?" Jaune asks her. Pyrrha turns to face him. His expression is soft but his eyes are piercing, searching her face.

"Just, just thinking about the future. We won't have Beacon anymore to return to, and the world is big," she says with a shrug and a smile. She looks away, but feels him place his hand overtop hers.

"Ya, ya it is. But we'll face it together, right?"

She smile in agreement, "Right."

There's a break in the conversation as a breeze rolls through.

"Hey uh Pyrrha…" At the tentative tone in his voice, she turns to look at him. There's a light blush dusting his cheeks, and he's scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "I was uh, wondering… well…

"If you ever wanted to get married?" He looks straight at her in ernest as he finishes, biting his lower lip.

She freezes, staring at him wide-eyed. The only sound she can hear is her pounding heartbeat racing in her ears, like a stampede of Grimm.

"I mean not right now, obviously we've only JUST finished school, but like maybe in time when things settle, and we get a routing go-"

"Yes," she cuts him off. Oh gosh yes, she wants to marry this incredibly, wonderful, dorky man. Her cheeks hurt from the wide, wobbly smile as she looks over at him. "A thousand times yes Jaune."

"Oh okay, great! Wonderful!" He's got that dorky smile on again, the one he never grew out of, and she chuckles softly.

"You know, there's no rush right? I'm not going anywhere, we're not going anywhere. We're partners remember? Always together."

"Right. Together."

And he leans over, sealing the promise with a kiss.

* * *

 _wait for me, wait for me there_

 _i'll die if you die, wait for me i swear_

 _wait for i'm still somewhere_

 _you're getting older without me i'm scared_

* * *

 **AN** : also cross-posted on ao3 under praetoring.

sO I heard this song a few days ago, and was hit by a trainwreck of feels. uhhh and this was the result. kinda running with the headcanon that all the previous maiden souls combine. so pyrrha can see through cinder, and vice versa. I'm still stupidly happy with how this turned out, even tho it made me tear up like three times.

hope you enjoy & tell me what you think!


End file.
